Electrical therapeutical



(No Model.)

B. A. TEFFT. Electrical Therapeutical Appliance. No. 234,348. Patented Nov. 9,1880.

Iwrentm? N PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D Cv UNITED STATES PATENT GFrrcE.

EMILY A. TEFFT, OF EAST OTTO, NEW YORK.

ELECTRICAL TH ERAPEUTICAL APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 234,348, dated November 9, 1880.

' Application filedAngnstQB, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILY AMELIA TEFFT, M. D., of the village of East Otto, in the county ot'Oattaraugus, in the State of New York, one of the United States of America, now temporarily residing at the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Appliances for the Applioa tion of Electricity for Therapeutic Purposes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of apparatus which enables diseases requiring a constant current of electricity to be treated without necessitating the laying up of the patient; and it consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrangement of such apparatus, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

As the treatment of disease by galvanism, voltaic electricity, and electromagnetism is a recognized branch in the medical profession, it will be sufficient for the purposes of this specificationto say that when, as is sometimes the case, it is desirable to convey a constant current through the part affected my appliances, owing to portability, permit the application in cases when it would not otherwise be possible.

For the purpose ofillustrating my invention, I show in the drawings the figure of a woman being treated for fibroid tumor or other disease of the womb requiring a constant current of electricity, together with details of the apparatus used for that purpose.

A is an abdominal supporter, made substantially in the manner shown in Figure 2, and provided with a pocket, B, which contains a small portable battery made for the purpose. 0 are elastic leg-pieces for holding down the supporter A, while the straps D are arranged to carry it.

In order to convey the electricity to the desired point, I make an instrument like that shown in Fig. 3, composed of a metal ball, E, having a short shank, I to which I attach two copper wires, Gr, twisted together, as represented, and forming a flexible shank. This flexible shank is made any length thought advisable. Both it and the wire are covered with a rubber insulator, the wires branching off, as indicated, to different points of the supporter A, to which they are attached by the straps to and buttons b, as represented. This mode of attachment admits of the ready adjustment of the instrument, and at the same time forms a brace to steady it.

To complete the appliance, a suitable belt, H, is fastened about the person, as shown, to which one wire, (7, leading from the battery B, is connected, the other wire, 0, being fastened to one of the wires forming the flexible shank G.

As before stated, the drawing Fig. I illustrates the application of my appliances for the treatment of a womb disease requiring a constant current of electricity, the current passing from the battery in the pocket B, through the insulated flexible wire stem or shank G, to the metal ball E, which distributes'the electricity within the womb, the circuit being completed by the wire (I, which connects the battery B to suitable plates held within the belt H, or otherwise.

It will be seen that an apparatus made and applied in the manner herein described may be worn without inconvenience, the flexibility of the stem or shank Gr enabling the patient to change from a sitting to a standing posture as frequently as desired without disturbing the instrument or experiencing any inconvenience.

The appliances described are equally applicable for the cure of hemorrhoids and diseases of like nature, the form and style of the parts being altered to suit the complaint.

It will also be understood that the ball E, provided with a flexible shank, may be used advantageously with an ordinary battery too heavy to be considered portable.

What I claim as my invent-ion is- The combination, with the abdominal supporter A, provided with a pocket, B, carrying a portable battery having conducting-wires d e,

of the belt H. carrying suitable plates, metallic ball E. having shank F and insulated wires G, twisted together at their outer ends to form a flexible shank connected with the ball-shank, and attached at their opposite ends to diflerent points of the supporter, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

E. AMELIA TEFFT. W'itnesses:

J. K. CAMERON, DONALD O. BIDOUT. 

